If you’re looking into whether to have hair transplant surgery, you might have already started researching into the different types of hair transplantation you can have.
You could be struggling with healthy hair growth and have already decided you want to have the hair transplant procedure. Or, if you’re having issues with your self confidence, you’ve heard that a hair transplant exists, and want to know more about hair grafts.
So, what’s a hair graft?
- What is a hair graft?
- How many grafts do you need?
- How are you supposed to know the number of grafts for your hair loss?
Don’t worry!
We’ll explain everything you need to know about hair grafts and hair follicles right here. That way, you can understand more about hair loss and the hair transplant procedures.
Hair follicles, hair grafts, all the definitions
What is a hair graft?
A hair graft is a strip or bit of skin containing hair. That graft can be removed from anywhere on your body really. But a hair transplant surgeon removes a graft from the donor area.
So when you get a hair transplant, the transplanted hair means the graft of hair your surgeon has removed from the donor area.
How many pieces of hair are in one graft?
One hair graft can have between 1 to 4 pieces of hair. But you’ll often find that people have 2 hairs per each graft of hair.
What does the number of grafts mean?
The number of grafts means how many hair roots will be transplanted in the hair transplant procedure. Up to 3 hairs can grow on each root. At least, that’s an average but everyone is different.
How many hair grafts do you need?
Up to 6,000 grafts, if you’re having a full hair transplant to help with hair loss. But this will definitely depend on your individual circumstance. It can also depend on your hair colour, age and many factors.
“I don’t know the number of hair grafts I need” – Don’t worry, you don’t need to!
That’s why we ask you to send through 5 specific photographs of your existing hair when you contact us. We’ll request certain angles of your full head and back of the head.
Then, our certified and highly experienced hair transplant surgeon, Dr. Marwan Saifi, will be able to let you know how many grafts you are going to need depending on the results you want.
Once your surgeon has decided the number of hair grafts that you need on your scalp, we can book you in for your surgery.
You can find out how much hair transplant costs per graft.
What is follicular unit strip surgery?
FUT is when a strip of healthy hair follicles are taken, and then used to be implanted where you’re experiencing baldness.
What is follicular unit extraction?
FUE is similar to FUT, but it doesn’t leave a scar.
What are transplanted grafts?
Transplanted grafts are the tiny bits of hair that the surgeon inserts into the bald spots on your head. So the parts that are affected by hair loss.
What is the donor site?
The donor site, or the donor area as it’s often called instead, means the part of your head where your surgeon will take the hair grafts from.
What are hair plugs?
Plugs are just another name for the hair transplant procedure. But it’s a much older term for it. It still means taking tiny pieces of hair from your donor zone. The surgeon moves hair to the bald area where new hair grows.
Hair plug treatment is old fashioned now
One hair plug, when it was called the back in the 1950s, could hold up to 20 pieces of hair. Back then, when the science wasn’t quite updated and successful enough, people went through this follicular unit transplantation or FUE procedure, but didn’t get the good results they wanted.
It didn’t look natural enough.
Hair plugs no more, hair transplant surgery has evolved
But the science of transplanted hair has evolved lots now. We have experienced, qualified surgeons like Dr. Marwan Saifi performing the transplant on patients from around the world. The magic of the hair grafts are changing the lives and improving the confidence for so many happy patients.
What does graft survivability mean in hair transplants?
The hair grafts need to survive the surgery. Typically, there’s a 90-95% success rate.
That means your grafts need to be looked after to do so.
- hydrated
- kept at the right temperature
- have plenty of oxygen
What affects the graft survival rate?
- Good quality aftercare
- Choosing the correct procedure –FUE, FUT etc
- Hair type or hair density
Thick and super curly hair can need more love to survive the surgery, but as long as your surgeon is sufficiently qualified, you don’t need to worry.
The surgery isn’t very painful and we do our best to keep you as pain-free as possible. Our surgeon will discuss any pain medications if you did prefer to use some after the surgery.
Can you get side effects to having hair transplants?
Some people can get side effects after having follicular units implanted. For example, people can have an allergic reaction or other minor side effects.
But this doesn’t happen often, and our surgeon can explain all the right steps to take to ensure good health for your hairs and your scalp after the hair transplant.
You might be interested in:
- What’s the hair transplant cost in Pakistan?
- How long does a hair transplant take to heal?
- What age does male pattern baldness start?
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